Police arrested two Scripps Ranch High School students yesterday on suspicion of bringing a pellet gun on campus.

The two students, 16-year-old Scripps Ranch residents, were arrested without incident minutes after a student called the San Diego County Crime Stoppers hotline at 12:42 p.m. to report seeing a schoolmate with a weapon that turned out to be a pellet gun.

Officers from the San Diego Police Department and the San Diego Unified School District removed the student from math class, handcuffed him and confiscated the weapon from his backpack.

The student told police he bought the gun for $150 from another student, who was also arrested.

"The message here is clear: We obviously take any type of weapon seriously," said Don Braun, the school district's police chief.

Police believe the student's plans for the weapon were recreational, not criminal. The canyons of Scripps Ranch are popular locations for target practice, officers said.



JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune
Authorities said this gas-powered gun was loaded with small plastic pellets when they confiscated it from a Scripps Ranch High School student on campus yesterday.

Some students from the math building were evacuated during the arrest. But most students were unaware of the incident until school let out and they were greeted by reporters.

Both students were cited and released by school district police, a spokesman said. The boys face possible charges and a recommendation for expulsion.

Officers described the weapon as an "Uzi-looking, CO2 Airsoft gun." At the time of the arrest, the black, heavy steel gun with a bright orange tip was loaded with small plastic pellets, police said.

Principal Bill Fox said he planned to send a letter home with students yesterday informing parents of the incident and reminding them of the school's zero-tolerance policy on bringing weapons – real or fake – to campus. He also praised the student who reported the incident, which he said led to the swift arrest.

"Our No. 1 priority is safety at school," Fox said. "We encourage any individual who witnesses anything that presents a possible risk to report it. And that's exactly what happened."

Several students said the use of pellet guns was common among teens in Scripps Ranch.


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"A lot of kids have them," junior Alex Van Vechten, 17, said. "Buying one on campus – a dumb move."

Yesterday's arrest came just six days after the six-year anniversary of the nation's deadliest school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.

Callers to Campus Crime Stoppers not only remain anonymous, but may receive cash rewards up to $1,000 for reporting any illegal activity on campus – drugs, guns, assaults – even if the tip does not lead to an arrest, Crime Stoppers Officer Jim Johnson said.

In more than four years, phone tips to Campus Crime Stoppers have led to the seizure of a half-dozen guns or gun replicas on campuses. Drugs and other contraband also have been confiscated.